we begin tonight with the cliffhanger on capitol hill. just minutes ago, the house passed the senate's compromise to stop tax increases and spending cuts.

republicans in the house decided not to amend the senate bill which would have made it impossible to get a deal done. it means the top earning americans will pay higher taxes. everyone else, taxes stay the same. steve handelsman has the the latest. >> reporter: the vote continues in the house. by at least 40 votes, the fiscal cliff fix put together by president obama with senate republicans has passed the house. where conservatives figured they had to go along or get blamed for taking us off the cliff and keeping us there. but first, they fought back. it was a struggle between speaker john boehner and more conservative republicans like paul ryan, and the house republican leader who walked with the speaker but this morning opposed the fiscal cliff deal that boehner tonight would allow to pass the house. >> it is passed.

>> reporter: the senate passed it this morning 89-8. democrats and republicans cooperating to. reverse the tax hikes on 98% of americans that took effect at the midnight fiscal cliff. but leaving place a tax hike on the wealthy. incomes over $400,000. and postponed deep spending cuts. democrats pushed for house approval. >> the issue of whether we have an up or down vote shouldn't be a question. >> reporter: house republicans battled. the faction demanding budget cuts be added to the bill. >> and the senate and how that we are serious about cutting spending. though they're not. >> reporter: time to count heads. >> yeah we are going to whip and see where we are and vote. >> reporter: the moderates won. a vote set on what the senate passed. house passage all but assured. >> we are working hard to pull ourselves back from that, that cliff. we went over the cliff. pulling ourselves back. >> reporter: it is not a one-day quick fix.

looks like the final margin of victory in the house will be exactly 40 votes. there may be some shakeout there. but it is a solid win, bipartisan win, in the house. a win for president obama. who will sign this fiscal cliff fix as soon as he can and later tonight may make some kind of a statement. but this struggle is a sure sign that three battles just ahead over taxes and spending will be bitterly fought. live from the u.s. capitol, steve handelsman reporting. back to you. >> steve, thank you. of course, we'll have complete coverage all night long on line at nbcwashington.com on twitter and news 4 today starting at 4:25 in the morning. it was quite of a scene in clinton, maryland. check out this fire that broke out at a vacant home in the 8200 block here of student drive. it began around 6:15 this evening. firefighters tell us they arrived to find flames shooting through the roof. flames were so intense they were forced to fight the fire from

outside. there were no injuries, and the cause is still under investigation. if you thought today was cold, get ready for tomorrow, folks. storm 4 chief meteorologist has more on the coldest night of the season. doug kammerer. doug? >> temperatures on average. tomorrow will feel 15 to 20 degrees colder depending on where you are. the cloud cover. notice it looks like on the radar we have rain and even snow moving on in. the atmosphere, too dry at the surface. none of this its hitting the ground. we are going to stay with the cloud cover as we make our way through the night tonight. temperatures, 41 in washington. 22 degrees in pittsburgh. 29 in morgantown. the very cold air making its way our way overnight tonight. tomorrow, will probably be the coldest day we have seen so far. tomorrow night we get really cold. talk about that in a minute. >> doug, thank you. a massive outpouring of support at the site of an accident that killed a prince william county motorcycle officer this week.

family, fellow officers, and strangers stood side by side to night to honor his life. as news 4s darcy spencer shows us, officer chris young is remembered for his service, his community spirit, and his smile. ♪ there were bagpipes, candles and hugs as hundred came together to remember a fallen prince william county police officer. his two brothers, one of them an officer, spoke at the vigil. >> he was my best friend. he's looking down on us right now. at this moment. >> i just thank you on behalf of my family for everyone being here. and for your support. >> officer chris young was 35 years old and a seven-year veteran of the force. he was the third line of duty death in the department's history. >> we miss chris. he was a wonderful guy. outstanding public servant. dedicated police officer with a terrific smile. >> the cell phone video shows the fiery scene investigators

say young was responding to a call on his department motorcycle new year's eve when he collided with a minivan. the driver, a 69-year-old woman from gainesville was not hurt. >> prince william county police department is, has, come to be known for, the professionalism and their community involvement. >> i love you, brother. >> young leaves behind a wife and three children and a department dealing with the grief of losing one of its own. manassas police officer, brian hogan trained young to become a motorcycle officer. >> it actually hit me harder because i did train him. and you know, it's one of those things that you just never want to see. >> prince william county police are conferring with the commonwealth's attorney's office to determine what if any charges are filed against the driver of the van. in virginia, darcy spencer, news 4. children in stafford county will see a lot more security when they head back to class tomorrow morning. the county sheriff's office plans to do daily checks of all

public schools in the weak of the newtown, connecticut tragedy. the first time daily police patrols at schools. this is a precautionary measure and is not in response to any threat. survivors of the mass shooting at sandy hook elementary in connecticut go back to class on thursday. tomorrow, there is an open house for parents. students will use a vacant school building in the nearby town of monroe. school administrators have transferred desks and other things from sandy hook in an effort to make the surroundings more familiar for students. parents of a maryland first grader suspend foed for pointin his fingers like a gun. the boy is at roscoe nix elementary. suspend aid week after the shootings in connecticut. the family's attorney says the 6-year-old was playing with friend, not making any threats. >> keep in mind that a

6-year-old is presumed not to be able to form the intent to commit a crime. >> the school system will not comment on any individual disciplinary matters. a spokesman tells news 4 generally with younger students they make tour children and parents know about behavior that need to change and understand the consequences if it doesn't. investigators plan to return to prince george's county and a church there tomorrow as they try to figure out what cause aid serious fire. it happened at the first wesleyan church in oxon hill. a power outage after last night's new year's eve service. the blaze ]. out early this morning. >> very, very real possibility. when the power was reenner jitz -- reenergized. something could have been left on. >> my children grew up in the church. and this its just sad. >> the fire caused more than $100,000 in damage.

prince george's county teacher accused of sexually abusing one of his students. he heads to court tomorrow. the man was a social studies teacher at isaac gourdine school. charged with having sex with a 13-year-old student sever times on and off school property. police arrested him early last month. he was a teacher at thurgood marshal middle school in temple hills beginning in august. he is on administrative leave. tonight metro is looking for bus surveillance video after a woman was stabbed and another beaten. police tell us they're looking for four men tonight. the attack happened early this morning on the 93 bus heading to congress heights. the group of guys boarded the bus in adams morgan. two women got into an argument with one of the men. that's when it escalated out of control. the women's injuries are not life threatening. seven months, that's hong

the elevators at the busy bethesda metro staegs hation han out of order. by friday could be up and running again. news 4s, transportation reporter, adam tuss has more. >> reporter: for months the elevators at bethesda metro have been out of commission. promises of dates when they would open missed. riders frustrated with the process. now the escalators are here. these, are some of the longest, troublesome in the metro system can't be trusted. when they barareak down the onl way up or down is to walk. what's that like? >> painful. painful. a lot of steps. painful. >> reporter: without an elevator, pulling bags becomes a pre seed j procedure. the same if you ride a bike. >> i tyake my bike. kind of annoying. >> imagine no elevator being in ape wheelchair.

what do you do? he has a hip condition. he can't walk easily. but can stand. >> it's just hard for me to get around the city walking i am very slow. i do get some times. >> he and his cousin have had to get creative getting around with the elevator out. >> would like to have an elevator. this is doable just a pain. >> reporter: good news after months the elevator here is scheduled to open this friday. meth rove saying t metro saying the project is complete just need to pass inspection. there is hope the elevator will open this friday. next on the list the escalators. all three of them scheduled to be rpd oipped out and replaced. could mean delays and his aches at the station. adam tuss, news 4. dozens of same sex couples in maryland rang in the new year getting married.

same-sex marriage law took place at 12:01. baltimore mayor performed one of the gay marriages after midnight. many couples say they can't belief they can finally legally get married. >> jim and i met in 1977. at that time i didn't bleach th -- believe gay people would see the day that they than marry. voters made the law legal through a referendum in november. ahead tonight at 11:00 -- a pilot tracks down an in troupeder at his hotrouped trouped -- an intruder at his home from up in his plane. >> after the ball dropped. the first baby born in our area. we'll meet the proud parents. >> how mike shanahan will bring down the seahawks. president obama is getting ready to respond to the house passing the senate's amendment to avoid the fiscal cliff.

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bundle up tomorrow, the wind chills are coming sfwhak aback? >> yeah, between 20 and 25 most tough the day. would make it the coldest day this whole year. take a look outside. another plane lands out there at reagan national airport. temperatures are a bit on the mild side. all during the month of december. at least for the most part. they're starting out mild, today. we saw high temperature of 45 at

the airport. that is above average once again. the low temperature 38. our average low today is 29 degrees. we are wellbove that yet again. the lowest number we have seen all season is 29 degrees. we have been way above average, especially for the low temperatures. i think tomorrow, we'll start to go below average. a little bit. take a look at the record low today. minus 14. that is the coldest number ever recorded in our region. way back in 1881. i don't see that coming anytime soon. probably nott ein our life time. the wind chill sitting at 34. so the wind is starting to come in. we have cloud. clouds keeping temperatures above where they would be. 36 martinsburg. 34, frederick. and the wind believe it or not will help keep the temperatures a little bit warmer. we are still talking about the wind chill. radar noth going on around our immediate area. there is some shower activity

down toward the south. a lot of it not hitting the ground. as the the atmosphere has been too dry. we had a lot of moisture over us. plenty of cloud cover. atmosphere at the surface has been on the dry side. down to the south. richmond. roanoke. that's where the rain is. that's where it has been all day long. for you folks waiting for snow. i know there is a lot of you out there looking for that snow. here is a little bit of a tidbit for you. december, we saw .2 inch of snow. 82% of our snow falls, between january and march. so there is some hope to get some snow. i don't see any mr. for one to weeks. showing the cold front moving to south and east. as the it does rather cold, breezy conditions will move in. highs tomorrow will struggle to get into the middle 30s for most of you. with that went upwards of 15, 20 miles an hour. i think wind chills will be in the mid 20s. all day long. tomorrow is going to be a cold day. with more cloud cover. especially early. going to feel quite chilly. speaking of chilly. thursday. still a chilly day. breezy side.

with some sunshine. thursday will be a little bit better. a little belttter friday. head into the weekend. we warm up. cloudy. chilly start. wind out of the north, 5, 10 miles an hour. make our way through the day. going to see the numbers back up into -- the 30s. 35 to 38 degrees. that would be the coldest numbers we have seen so far this season. at leasten the me ein the metro. 41, thursday. 40, friday. 45 on saturday. 45 as well on sunday. as we take on the seahawks out at fed-ex. milder as we head into monday and tuesday. so starting off cold. we're not going to say there. getting warm once again. >> doug, thank you. tonight george washington university announced the death of a man who helped make it a world class institution. lloyd elliott was the school president from 1965 to 1988. endowment increased from $8

million to $200 million. all three libraries on the foggy bottom campus were built. school of international affairs named after elliott. died at gw hospital today. he was 94 years old. a vigil for a washington, d.c. hoops legend jamar board. known as silent assassin to many. remembered at berry farms here. well known in basketball circles. but is best remembered for a game two years ago. he scored 75 points. mostly on three pointers. board's funeral is expected to take place on saturday. details are still being worked out. the circumstances of his death are still under investigation tonight. state leaders in pennsylvania are planning to file a lawsuit tomorrow. challenging the ncaa stiff sanctions against penn state university. those sanctions were handed down in the whaake of the jerry sandusky sex abuse scandal.

sandusky was sentenced, and convicted on charges he sexually abused young boys. the penalty include a $60 million fine against penn state. used to finance child abuse prevention efforts on a national level. state lawmakers object to that money being spent outside pennsylvania. florida pilot's travel routine helped him stop a thief from breaking into his house. david zetner and his wife always fly over their house on the way to the airport after a trip to take a look at their property from the sky. this tomb they spotted something unusual. a man casing the house. with the plane making circles over the house, the thief hooked up david's trailer to the truck and took off. we want to get the latest now from the white house. the president is responding to the house vote tonight. >> a central premise of my campaign for president was to change the tax code. that was too skewed towards the wealthy at the expense of working middle-class americans.

tonight, we have done that. thanks to the votes of democrats and republicans in congress, i will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2% of americans. while preventing a middle-class tax hike that could have sent the economy back into recession, and obviously had a severe impact on families all across america. i want to thank all of the leaders of the house and senate. in particular, i want to thank, the work that was done by my extraordinary vice president, joe biden. as well as leader harry reid, speaker boehner, nancy pelosi, and mitch mcconnell. everybody worked very hard on this. and i appreciate it. and joe once again, i want to thank you for your great work. under this law, more than 98% of americans and 97% of small businesses will not see their income taxes go up. millions of families will continue to receive tax credits to help raise their kids and

send them to college. companies will continue to receive tax credits for the research that they do, investments they make and clean energy jobs that they create. and 2 million americans, who are out of work, but out there looking, pounding the pavement every day, are going to continue to receive unemployment benefits as long as they're actively looking for a job. but i think we all recognize, this law is just one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy and broaden opportunity for everybody. the fact is, the deficit is still too high. and we're still investing too little in the things that we need for the economy to grow as fast as it should. that tea w that's why speak eer boehner ani tried to put the country on a path to paying down its debt and putting americans back to work,

and education and job training. unfortunately, there just wasn't enough support or time for that kind of large agreement in a lame-duck session of congress. and that failure comes with a cost. as the the messy nature of the process over the past several week has made business more uncertain and consumers less confident. but, we are continuing to chip away at this problem. step by step. last year i signed into law $1.7 trillion in deficit reduction. tonight's agreement further reduces the deficit by raising $620 billion in revenue from the wealthiest households in america. and there will be more deficit reduction as congress decide to what to do about the automatic spending cuts that we have now delayed for two months. i want to make this point. as i have demonstrated throughout the past several weeks. i am very open to compromise. i agree with democrats and republicans that the aging

population and the rising cost of health care makes medicare the biggest contributor to our defic deficit. i belief we have got to find ways to reform that program without hurting seniors who count on it to survive. and i believe that -- that there is further unnecessary spending in government that we can eliminate. but we can't simply cut our way to prosperity. cutting spending has to go hand in hand with further reforms to our tax code. so that the wealthiest corporations and individuals can't take advantage of loopholes and deductions that aren't available to most americans. and we can't keep cutting things like basic research and new technology and still expect to succeed in the 21st century economy. so, we are going to have to continue to move forward in deficit reduction, but we mav to do it in a balanced way. making sure we are growing even

as we get a handle on, on our spending. now, one last point i want to make, while i will negotiate over many things -- i will not have another debate with this congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they have already racked up through the laws that they passed. let me repeat -- we can't not pay bills that we have already incurred. if congress refuses to give the united states government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic, far worse than the impact of a fiscal cliff. people will remember back in 2011, the last time this course of action was threatened, our entire recovery was put at risk. consumer confidence plunged, business investment plunged, growth dropped. we can't go down that path again. today's agreement, enshrines a principle into law that will remain in place as long as i

president. the deficit need to be reduced in a way that is balanced. everyone pays their fair share. everyone does their part. that's how our economy works best. that's how we grow. the sum total of all of the budget agreements we have reached so far proves that there is a path forward. that they it is possible if we focus not on our politic thousands but on what is right for the country. and the one thing that ifulfly will focus on, put a package like this together. less drama, more brinkmanship, not scare the heck out of folks quite as much. we can come together as democrats and republicans to cut spending and raise revenue in a way that reduces our deficit, protects our middle-class, provides ladders into the middle-class for everybody who is welling to work hard. we can find a way to afford the investments we need to grow and

compete. we can settle this debate. or at the very least not allow tight be so all consuming all the time that it stops us from meeting a host of other challenges that we face, creating jobs, boosting incomes, fixing our infrastructure, fixing our immigration system, protecting our planet from climate change, boosting domestic energy production, protecting our kids from the horrors of gun violence. it is not just possible to do these things it is an on li gbln to ourselves. i look for tward ward to every of of congress to meet this obligation in the new year i hope that everybody now get at least a day off or few days off. so that people can refresh themselves. because we are going to have a lot of work to do in 2013. thank you, everybody. happy new year. >> grateful president obama

tonight after a day of high drama on the hill. his message is clear. a lot of work to be done. the new congress starts work on thursday. much more reaction coming up on news 4 today starting at 4:28 tomorrow morning.

redskins would look to spend the week celebrating. we have the seahawks on the horizon. >> nothing but good scenes. once you make the playoffs. everyone is capable of winning the football game. redskins fans on cloud nine after the huge victory against the cowboys. rightfully so. like any fans, player or coach. you have to move on at some point. this stun dunday a challenge. seahawks have beaten their opponents.

much like the skins, seattle, a complete squad. >> you know, excellent offensive. defensive football team. giving up the fewest points. defense is playing at a high level. offensively. able to runt footba the footbal. score points. very well coached. very well disciplined team. playing great. >> i know they have been putting up a lot of points. we are going to have to bring our hard hats. they've been playing well defensively. russell wilson playing at a high level. and a task ahead of us. we are excited. ready for this. ready to see how juiced up. fed-ex field is. >> next up, seattle. go out. prepare. be physical. two great players. have to worry. russell wilson. mar se marshawn lynch. take it to them. >> skins start practice tomorrow at redskins park. kickoff. sunday. 4:30. should be

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